Cell Phones, Software, and Simple Plastic Can Help Eye Patients
Photo via NETRA
MIT tells us that a quicker, cheaper way to determine a person's prescription for eyeglasses to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism can come with a cell phone and simple attachment device.
The small plastic device -- which costs only $1-2 to produce -- is clipped onto a cell phone's screen. The patient looks into the lens and presses the phone's arrow keys until sets of parallel red and green lines overlap. The test is repeated several times at different angles, and when the test is finished after about two minutes, a software program in the phone compiles the results and spits out a prescription for the patient.
The device, created in MIT's Media Lab, is ideal for diagnosing eye prescriptions in remote or developing areas that lack access to eye exam equipment. We know that even in the most rural areas of Africa and India, cell phones are ubiquitous. The combination of cell phones and this inexpensive device is perfect for people who have next to no access to doctors. It would certainly pair well with the liquid-filled universal eye glasses created by Josh Silver.
The team at MIT is beginning clinical trials, but according to MIT, "preliminary testing with about 20 people, and objective tests using camera lenses, have shown that it can achieve results comparable to the standard aberrometer test." They're calling the device NETRA, short for Near-Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment, and NETRA is already receiving accolades, earning a prize at this year's IDEAS competition at MIT.
"I've tried it myself, and found it to be very impressive," says Ken Perlin, professor of computer science at NYU's Media Research Lab. "I think they found a real sweet spot where the right software can allow a consumer device to perform an accurate measurement of optical acuity that formerly required extremely expensive equipment."
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